Namespaces

Abstract

A namespace declaration defines a scope, and can therefore be used to prevent name clashes. The namespace feature is required because C++ defines a single global scope namespace outside the scope ofif-else or switch statement blocks, loops, functions and classes. As programs steadily grow in size they correspondingly become more susceptible to name clashes. A large program will consist of numerous function and class library files, and namespaces allow functions and classes to be associated with a scope other than the global file scope. The namespace feature is particularly useful for eliminating name clashes between applications and function and class libraries